First and ten: the technology behind the Super Bowl broadcast

These are the iconic images of pro football, and they're low-tech in the extreme. While the game itself remains a contest of brute strength, raw speed, and little red challenge beanbags, the entire transmission infrastructure that brings the games into our homes and plasters them on our televisions in HD is exactly the opposite: millions of dollars of the most complicated broadcast technology on the planet.

With the Midwest basking in the unseasonal glow of the Super Bowl spotlight, it's fitting time to take a closer look at the tech that will power this Sunday's contest. CBS, which is covering the game this year, has deployed a crew of hundreds to Miami to man the HD cameras, run the first-down line, and show you the slowest of slow-motion replays.